P2P lenders among fintechs in diversity crisis debate
Peer-to-peer lenders were among the fintech leaders in parliament this week to discuss the future of the sector.
Hosted by MP Dean Russell and chaired by Steven George-Hilley of Centropy PR, attendees gathered to discuss the impact a lack of diversity, increased regulation, and limited access to funding will have on the future of the industry.
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“Diversity is challenging in finance and technology. We all know that diverse organisations perform better but it’s about taking action to solve it,” said Steve Hadaway, chief revenue officer at know-your-customer automation platform Encompass Corporation.
The Parliament Street think tank’s fintech summit was comprised of a panel of fintech experts who debated the role businesses should play in recruiting and building a more diverse fintech workforce, along with the threat posed by AI to job creation.
“We tend to judge things in tech and innovation as they are now,” said Laimonas Noreika, co-founder and chief executive at European P2P lending platform HeavyFinance. “If we look at the change of the past 10 years, we can expect to see that in the next 10 to help put developments in perspective.”
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Attendees also discussed the future of the fintech industry in the face of funding shortfalls.
“Fintechs across the globe are experiencing turbulence within the regulatory landscape,” added Jim McCarthy, executive vice president at Thredd.
“The funding environment can also be difficult to achieve growth where some areas are oversaturated, but fintech is not dead.”
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